Pumpkin Spiced Apple Cider Cocktail

A nice change for a Fall cocktail with rum in lieu of bourbon. This Pumpkin Spiced Apple Cider Cocktail is touched with cinnamon and lemon too!

I’ve been working with Sprouts Farmers Market the past couple of months and they are pretty much the perfect brand for me to collaborate with. I must be in their store three times a week so it’s easy to wax poetic about a company I already love. This month they sent me a variety of products to use, all a part of their nod to Pumpkin Spice for fall and it was up to my discretion what I wanted to do. Well, I used ALL of them but first what I really wanted to do was a cocktail and this Pumpkin Spiced Apple Cider with Rum Cocktail was a revelation.

I was told that someone else was working on a bourbon type cocktail so I was asked if I would try something with a different liquor. Well…bourbon and apple cider are SO perfect together but luckily that worked for me since I’ve already gone there with this Bourbon and Apple Cider Cocktail. Time to put on my thinking cap and come up with something a bit different.

You know what’s really fun when you stretch yourself a bit heading into previously uncharted territory? When the results are so amazing you think you just might have found your NEW favorite fall cocktail. I had considered using a cinnamon liqueur but so glad I kept it simple with a cinnamon simple syrup. You don’t have to buy something special and I’ve got a really delicious syrup that was great on pancakes the next day. Winner winner, let’s have cocktails for dinner!

What I have loved about all of the products I received was their balance. Not too much pumpkin. Not too heavy with the spices…no, they were just right. I also made some of the best muffins I’ve ever had…I’ll be posting those soon. They’ve got some Pumpkin Spiced Applesauce in them and I made a great spread with Sprouts Maple Pumpkin Butter. The recipe made 2 dozen so I shared a lot of them with my neighbors. Right now I wish I hadn’t…I’m craving another bite!

When I was younger my mainstay bottle of spirits was a white rum. I loved a cocktail called a Bacardi Cocktail and that was about it. Some white rum, lime juice and grenadine. I still love those but over the years I have come to really appreciate dark rum with it’s great caramel tones. Today’s cocktail featured a new entry from Bacardi called Havana Club rum. Aged for three years and with notes of vanilla and brown sugar, I thought it the perfect match for the other ingredients in this cocktail.

Could you make this drink with white rum? Sure…but don’t. The dark rum is just so perfect with the pumpkin spiced apple cider and cinnamon simple syrup. The lemon brightens the whole thing and the touch of ginger in the ginger ale was perfect. You could use ginger beer too but for this cocktail I actually prefer the less intense flavor of ginger ale; it’s in the background where it should be!

I mentioned that I had used all of the ingredients Sprouts sent me. I didn’t incorporate all of them into a recipe but had to share the success of this sweet treat. The Pumpkin Spice Gingerbread Cookies were delightful. I had some leftover frosting in the fridge from cupcakes I made for a baby shower last weekend and I didn’t want it to go to waste. Put the two together and seriously, how cute are these? Even with the frosting they’re not too sweet and I might have sampled one or five with my drink; this girl was on FIRE (yes, a nod to Alicia Keys!).

Dressed up just enough to seem special, the kids on my block loved them and not one said, ‘But Barb, you didn’t make these cookies yourself?’ I am the worst at not giving myself a break and I need more of these moments…a simple treat with a homemade touch was all that was needed to make them special and make a lot of people happy.

Run, don’t walk, to your nearest Sprouts and pick up this cider; with or without a cocktail it’s delicious! I know for me I already have my signature cocktail for Thanksgiving Day…yes, I really did love it THAT much!

I obviously love making cocktails for Fall and have several featuring apple cider…one for every week!

Pumpkin Spiced Apple Cider Cocktail

Ingredients

For the Cinnamon Simple Syrup

For the Cocktail

4 oz Sprouts Pumpkin Spiced Apple Cider, chilled

3 oz Dark Rum

1 oz Cinnamon Simple Syrup (see notes)

1.5 oz fresh Lemon Juice

Ginger Ale, Chilled

Directions

Make the Cinnamon Simple Syrup – combine the granulated sugar and water in a medium sauce pan and heat on medium until the sugar dissolves. Add the cinnamon sticks and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon sticks and cool the syrup to room temperature.

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